ANOTHER FLARE UP

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 March 1943, Page 3

ANOTHER FLARE UP

FIGHTING IN NEW GUINEA JAPANESE PUSHED BACK. FURTHER AMERICAN AIR RAIDS IN SOLOMONS. LONDON, February 28. • Fighting has flared up again in New Guinea. A war correspondent states that Allied troops have now pushed back the Japanese to within two miles of Buba. It is pretty certain, he states, that rntost of the enemy troops are back in Buba and others even further on the road to Salamaua. American Dauntless dive-bombers in the Solomons have set fire to a Japanese transport, as well as a corvette. This was in an attack on shipping in the New Georgia group. American bombers have also raided Japanese positions on Munda again and started fresh fires. MOPPING UP OPERATIONS 650 JAPANESE KILLED IN BUNA AREA. WIDESPREAD ALLIED AIR ATTACKS. (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY, February 28. More than 650 Japanese stragglers have been killed and 73 taken prisoner in the Buna area during February as an aftermath of the Papuan campaign. This information, indicating the extent of mopping-up operations still proceeding, is released by General MacArthur’s communique today. Other New Guinea successes by Allied group forces are reported from the Mubo area, where Australian patrols have again driven the Japanese back from their forward positions. In their hasty retreat the enemy left behind many dead. Allied air activity has also switched mainly to the New Guinea zone after having concentrated on New Britain in the Northern Solomons area during most of February. Rabaul had 22 attacks by heavy bombers during the month, ranging from harassing raids by single planes to a four-wave attack by more than 30 Fortresses and Liberators on February 14. The Buin-Faisi area was raided 10 times during February by bombers of General MacArthur’s command. Today’s communique reports air reconnaissance only in this sector. Newak and Lae in New Guinea and Gasmata in New Britain have been the main targets for Allied air attacks in the past 48 hours. Fortresses and Liberators on Friday dropped ten tons of bombs on runways and dispersal areas of the Gasmata aerodrome. At Newak, which had not been raided for more than three weeks, Fortresses caught enemy aircraft on the ground and destroyed or damaged several. A direct hit with 5001 b. bombs was scored on a 5000-ton ship in the harbour. Although two of the attacking planes’ engines were put out of action by anti-aircraft fire, the Fortresses making the hit came safely home. Three other small enemy vessels, each of 1000 tons or less, were damaged by near misses off Cape Powell, west of Open Bay, New Britain. Fortresses and Mitchell medium bombers have kept up a daily air offensive against Lae. Raids have been heavy, but damage to the enemy’s main New Guinea base is not reported. Havoc attack planes continue their low-level sweeps in support of Australian ground forces near Mubo. CLEAN SWEEP NO ENEMY WARSHIPS LEFT IN CORAL SEA. AMERICAN NAVAL FORCES FAIL TO FIND ENEMY: (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) NEW YORK, February 27. An Associated Press correspondent with the American fleet in the South Pacific says that a recent sweep by an American task force in the Coral Sea (between the southern Solomons, south-east New Guinea and the west of Queensland) revealed that the enemy has apparently quit these waters. The Americans found enemy warships totally absent and they did not even encounter “snooper” planes, though the Mikado’s crippled air-power is believed to be still remaining in this area.